Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-08-27

elsS' FROM Iui5 man aisle opened pass
ages at a distance Of every twelve or ff-
teen feet, leading, / supposed, to smaller
chambers. About fifty feet from the en-
trance of the cave, just where the light be-
gan TO get dim, a fire was burning, and
threw huge shadows upon the gloomy walls
around. Here Billali halted, and asked US
TO be seated, saying that they would bring
US food, and accordingly we squatted
ourselves down upon rugs of skins which
were spread for us, and waited. Presently
the food, consisting of goats flesh boiled,
fresh milk in an earthen-ware pot, and
boiled cob3 Of Indian Germ, was brought by
young girls. We were almost starving
and | do not think that | ever in my Life
before ate with such satisfaction. Indeed,
before we had finished, we literally ate up
everything that was set before us.
When we mad done, our saturnine host,
Bil!ail, who had been watching us in per-
feet silence, rose and addressed us. He
said that it was n wonderful thing that
had happened. No man had ever known
or heard of white strangers arriving in the
country Of the People Of the Rocks. Some
times, very rarely, black men had come
here, and from them they had heard Of the
existence of men much whittier han them
selves, who sailed on the sea in ships, but
for the arrival Of such there was no pre-
cedent. We had, however, been seen drag
ging the boat up the canal, and he told us
frankly that he had at once given orders
for our destruction, seeing that il was an
lawful for any stranger to enter here, when
n message had come from Shc-lGho-muSt-
bc-Obeycd, saying that our lives were to be
spared, and hat we were to be brought
hither.
Pardon me, my father" l interrupted
at this point; "but if, rs / understand,
She-rcho-muSt-bc-obcy lives yet further
off, how could she have known of our ap-
proach?"
Billali turned, and seeing that we were
alone-for the young lady, Ustane, bad
Withdrawn when he began TO ~speak-said,
with a curious little laugh:
Are there non in your land who can
see without eyes and hear without ears,
Ask no questions; She knew"
shrugged my shoulders at this, and he
proceeded to say that no further instruc-
tions had been received on the subject Of
orr disposal, and this being SO, he was
about TO start TO interview ShC-lChO-muSt
bC-ObCYcd, generally spoken of, for the
sake Of breyity, as ''Hiya,' or She simply,
who he gave us TO understand was the
Rlittl III VIC AIllclttsAtI, anu JedIH llcE
wishes.
/ asked him how long he proposed 10 be
away, and he said that by travelling hard
he might be back or the fifth day, but
there were many miles of marsh TO cross
before he came to where She was. He
then said that every arrangement would
be made for our comfort during his ab-
sence, and that, as he personally had taken
"a forlpN- ia ne ha CippnpaIv trttgtaI that tho
answer he should bring from She would
be one favorable TO the continuation of our
existence, but ut the same time he did not
wish to conceal from us that he thought
this doubtful, az every stranger who had
ever come into the country during his
grandmother's life, his mothers life, and
his own life had been put to death without
mercy, and in u way that he would not
harrow their feelings by describing; and
this had been lone 10y the order Of She her
self-at least he supposed it was by her
order. At any rate, she never interfered
To save them.
"Vyhy,"I said, "but how can that bef
You are an old man, and the time you talk
Of must reach back three mems lives.
How, therefore, could She have ordered
the death Of anybody at the beginning Of
the life Of your grandmother, seeing that
she herself would not have been bornY"
Again he smiled-that same faint, pecuL
lar smile-and with a deep boz departed,
without making any answer; nor did we
see him again for five days.
When he had gone we discussed the sit
uation, which filled me with alarm. | did
not at all like the accounts of this mysteri-
Gus queen, ShG-lChO-muSt-bG-ObCyed, or,
more shortly, She, who apparently ordered
the execution OF any unfortunate stranger
in a fashion so unmerciful. Leo, too, was
depressed about il, but proceeded to con-
sole himself by triumphantly pointing out
that this she was undoubtedly the person
referred to i'm the writing on the potsherd
and in his fathers letter, in proof of which
be advanced Billali's illusions TO her age
and power. I was by this time so over
whelmed with the whole course of events
that I had not even got the heart left to
dispute a proposition SO absurd; 50 l pro-
posed that we should try and go out and
get a bath, Of which we stood sadly in need.
Accordingly, having indicated our wish
20 O middle-aged individual OF an unusual
ly saturnine cast Of c~ountenance, even
among the saturnine people who appeared
to be deputed TO look after us now that the
Father of the hamlet had departed, we
started in a body-having first lighted our
pipes. Outside the cave we found quite a
crowd of people, evidently watching for
our appearance, but when they saw US
come ont smoking they vanished this way
and that, calling out that we were great
magicians. Indeed, nothing about us Gre
ated so great q sensation as our tobacco
smoke-not even our firearms. After this
we succeeded in reaching a stream and
taking our bath in peace, though some OF
the women, not excepting Ustane, showed
n decided inclination to follow us even
there.
BY the time we had finished this most
refreshing bath the sun was setting; in
deed, when we got back to the biz cave, it
had already set. The cave itself was full
of people gathered round fires-for several
more had now been lighted-and eating
their evening meal by the lurid light, and
by that Of various lamps which were set
about or hung up on the walls. These
lamps were of q rude manufacture Of baked
earthen-ware, and Of all shapes, some OF
them graceful enough. The larger ones
were formed of big red earthen-ware pots,
filled with clarified melted fat, and having
a reed wick stuck through a wooden disk
which filled the top Of the pot, and this
sort of lamp required the most constant at
tantinn m prauapF itc ycipn ont Rhnnnypr